The handling of effluents issuing from various mining, manufacturing and/or municipal facilities continues to be of concern. Cleaning and recycling of aqueous based effluence is handled in a variety of ways. For example, in well drilling or other mining operations, the outflow from the drilling process is commonly directed to shallow settling ponds. This approach has resulted in unsightly and potentially hazardous environmental conditions near such well sights, and increases the cost of such operations (e.g., by requiring greater water or process solids costs due to single use cycles).
In response to such concerns, closed loop drilling systems are used which process the outflow on site using polymer flocculants and other chemical substances. Constant monitoring of these operations, in addition to personnel for operating the systems, is required however, thus adding to the costs associated with extraction. Close attention to monitoring is required (and thus skilled system attendants) to assure proper dosages of polymer flocculant to avoid incomplete removal of solids (under dosage) or the waste, expense and potential for solids restablization effect (and return to active drilling fluids jeopardizing mud chemistry and the drilling operation and tools themselves) inherent in over dosage.
While composition monitors, as well as closed loop drilling fluid processing apparatus, are known (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,181, 5,145,256 and 5,171,090), further improvement could thus be utilized.